Grad Girl Wellness

Grad Girl Wellness

This is a podcast designed to inspire and highlight the stories of women of color in graduate school who are prioritizing their overall health and wellness as they pursue higher education.

  1. Apr 21

    Becoming a Mom. Becoming a Doctor.

    ✨ On the heels of Black Maternal Health Week, this conversation is one you don’t want to miss. We sat down with Dr. Michele Mayne 🎓—a newly minted PhD in Sociology (with a focus on medical sociology + community health & well-being)—who navigated the journey of unexpectedly becoming a mom during her doctoral program 🤱🏾📚 From challenges to triumphs, Dr. Mayne kept going… and her story is both real and inspiring 💫 In this episode, we dive into: 💭 How to decide if, when, and with whom to share your pregnancy 🧠 Strategies for navigating motherhood while staying on track academically 🌍 Building community as a woman of color and international student 🔥 Using motherhood as motivation—not limitation 🗂️ Creating structure while juggling coursework, teaching, adjuncting, and childcare This episode is a powerful reminder that your path doesn’t have to look traditional to be successful 💪🏾✨ To get in touch with her, email dr.michelesmayne@gmail.com 🎧 Tune in now + share with a grad girl who needs this! 💕

    59 min
  2. Ep 44: The Science of Memory: How Grad Students Can Learn Better

    Mar 23

    Ep 44: The Science of Memory: How Grad Students Can Learn Better

    Struggling to actually remember what you study? 🤯📚 On this episode of the Grad Girl Wellness Podcast, we’re joined by Dr. Rachel Slaughter—an expert on how the brain learns and retains information 🧠✨ She breaks down practical, research-backed strategies you can start using right now: 🔑 Effective study techniques (chunking, highlighting, annotation, and more) 🧘🏾‍♀️ Why breaks + intentional reading are essential for brain recovery 🔗 How to make your reading relevant (so it actually sticks!) 📝 Test-taking strategies that help you show up with confidence and ease If you’re tired of rereading the same page over and over, this episode is for YOU 💡 Learn more about her work at drrachelslaughter.com and follow her across social media for more gems 💻🌱

    27 min
  3. 43: From Dissertation to Book Journey (So Far)

    Feb 1

    43: From Dissertation to Book Journey (So Far)

    The dissertation is done—but the writing isn’t over. 📝 In this solo episode with Grad Girl Wellness creator, Dr. Angela, she shares some big news related to her dissertation! She reflects on what it’s really like to turn a dissertation into a book, juggling time, expectations, and uncertainty. If you’re a grad student or postdoc in the “what now?” stage, this one’s for you 💛

    18 min

  4. 12/09/2025

    42. Grad School Lessons in Leadership

    On this episode of the Grad Girl Wellness Podcast, we’re diving into all things leadership + higher education with the brilliant Dr. Nicole Rayfield. 🎓💛 She holds a PhD in Organizational Leadership with a focus on organizational citizenship behavior in Black women in academic spaces—aka all the extra labor we do that often goes unrecognized. 🙃✨ Get your notebooks ready, because she drops so many gems, including: 1️⃣ How to identify your “strategic yes” and decide if a leadership role is truly for you 2️⃣ How to step away from positions that no longer serve your growth 🙅🏽‍♀️✨ 3️⃣ How to spot your everyday leadership abilities (yes, you have them!) 💪🏽 4️⃣ How to quiet self-doubt and trust your leadership power 💭➡️✨ To learn more about Dr. Rayfield and her entrepreneurial brilliance, follow her on IG: 👉🏽 @officialdrnicolerayfield 👉🏽 @polishmeunbothered or visit www.polishmeunbothered.com 💌 Tune in, take notes, and step into your leadership era, Grad Girl. 💛🎧✨

    1h 13m
  5. 41. A Grad's Guide to Strategically Navigating Anti-Black Racism

    11/07/2025

    41. A Grad's Guide to Strategically Navigating Anti-Black Racism

    Awwww S.N.A.P.! 🎙️ On this episode, we sit down with Dr. Pearis Jean — psychologist, assistant professor, healer, and author. In her final year of graduate school, Dr. Jean developed a powerful model for Strategically Navigating Anti-Black Racism in Professional Spaces (S.N.A.P.) which is now a book! 📚 In this conversation, Dr. Jean shares insights on: ✨ Understanding and addressing anti-Black racism 🤝 Building peer support across graduate student cohorts 🧭 Using the S.N.A.P. decision-making model to prepare for, respond to and reflect on anti-Black racism 💡 Bonus: How a conference presentation turned into a book opportunity! 🌐 Connect with Dr. Jean: Website: www.drpearisjean.com Instagram: @pearisjeanphd LinkedIn: Pearis Jean 📘 Check out the book: Strategically Navigating Anti-Black Racism in Professional Spaces: A Practical Guide for Black People Responding to Racism in the Workplace — available wherever you buy books.

    38 min
  6. 40. Help Seeking and Vulnerability for Students

    09/30/2025

    40. Help Seeking and Vulnerability for Students

    In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Destiny Williams-Dobosz, a postdoctoral fellow in Educational Psychology. Drawing from her own journey, Dr. Williams-Dobosz shares how personal experience became a doorway into her research on help-seeking among Black women in STEM and first-generation college students. Our conversation explores: The resilience and vulnerability paradigmRedefining success in toxic environmentsStrategies for asking for help in college settingsWays to foster and support help-seeking behaviors in othersYou can dive deeper into her work by reading her recent publication: Williams-Dobosz, D. (2025). Storytelling as praxis: Leveraging a Black woman’s critical autoethnography as a first-generation college student to explore inequities and possibilities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education.

    37 min
  7. 39. Curating Community in Grad School and Beyond

    07/21/2025

    39. Curating Community in Grad School and Beyond

    🎓 You don’t have to do grad school alone! 💫 On this episode of the Grad Girl Wellness podcast, we sit down with Darrien Johnson, founder and CEO of The Community Curator — a social-impact consultancy supporting grassroots organizations across Philadelphia 🌆💼 With a Master’s in Non-Profit Organizational Management, Darrien shares her powerful journey of leaning into community to navigate grad school and build lasting impact. Tune in to hear: 🤝 How to find community in unexpected places 🏡 The importance of leaning on your home base during academic challenges 🌱 Tips for building sustainable and intentional community Want to learn more about Darrien and her incredible work? Follow her on LinkedIn to stay connected and inspired! #GradGirlWellness #CommunityBuilding #BlackWomenInNonProfits #GradSchoolJourney

    26 min
  8. 38. Grad School as Fertile Ground

    06/19/2025

    38. Grad School as Fertile Ground

    🎙️ On this episode of the Grad Girl Wellness podcast, we chat with designer, advocate, and creative visionary Diona Nicole! With a Master’s in User Experience and Interaction Design, Diona channeled her passion into founding Barren Fruit, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting those navigating infertility and reproductive health challenges 💛🌱 Tune in to hear: ✨ How Diona transformed an adjunct role into an opportunity for self-growth 🎓 How she used her master’s thesis to visualize the “silent” pain of women’s reproductive health 🤝 Practical ways to support someone experiencing reproductive health concerns To learn more about Barren Fruit and the inspiring work Diona does to birth new ideas, visit Barrenfruit.org or follow her on IG at @Diona.Nicole 💫 #GradGirlWellness #ReproductiveHealth #InfertilityAwareness #WellnessJourney

    51 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
5 Ratings

About

This is a podcast designed to inspire and highlight the stories of women of color in graduate school who are prioritizing their overall health and wellness as they pursue higher education.

Information

  • Creator
    Grad Girl Wellness
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    45
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Grad Girl Wellness